I've always loved "Bad to Me" and had NO idea John Lennon wrote it. Thanks so much for sharing it! The song and those old photos of my childhood idols really made my day...and their charm, humor, and infinite cool shine as brightly as ever. :)
As for your question about political coverage...I don't think the media as a whole will rise to …
I've always loved "Bad to Me" and had NO idea John Lennon wrote it. Thanks so much for sharing it! The song and those old photos of my childhood idols really made my day...and their charm, humor, and infinite cool shine as brightly as ever. :)
As for your question about political coverage...I don't think the media as a whole will rise to meet this moment in history. There seems to be a near-universal, conscious choice to keep Americans in the dark about Biden's successes and Trump's dangers.
I would give years of my life if a major news org would publish a series that extrapolates Trump's policies and plans to their impact on our daily lives. Will deporting immigrants cause food shortages? Does gutting the EPA mean we'll eat, drink, and breathe toxins? If Trump invoked emergency powers, would that mean martial law, and what would that be like? Trump just said he wants "my people" to "sit up in attention" like North Koreans do when Kim speaks - so what's daily life like in North Korea? What if Trump left NATO and formed an alliance with Putin? I personally believe nukes would be used and we'd be in World War III. People should connect those dots themselves, but they don't have time and can't research it as well as journalists can. The big story the media is missing is how a typical Trump voter's life would change if Trump were back in power. They're thinking they would benefit in many ways and need to be shown, again and again, how much they'd lose.
We're singing the same song Josette...thanks for articulating it so well! I have kiniptions when I hear interviewers NOT ask these follow-up questions of the MAGA-minded, or, I keep hoping that someone would open their news show with these rhetorical questions, then follow up with a panel of sane, knowledgeable guests who can give the factual answers. Then once we get the answers to how TFG's racist and misogynistic "policies" would literally affect our lives, they get repeated again and again until they make an INDELIBLE IMPRESSION on the voters' minds.
I agree completely, Madeline! I think repetition is so important, and it needs to be widespread - not just one news org but all of them - so it's clear that there's a consensus, not bias. It would also help if, as you said, panel guests were chosen not to argue with each other but to EXPLORE the topic, bringing up ideas and questions rather than coming from the "liberal vs. conservative" perspective. Instead of choosing guests based on their politics, news shows should choose guests based on whether or not they live in reality- in a world where science, evidence, witness testimony, logic, and laws matter. :)
I agree completely, Josette! It's actually frightening how, either without being conscious of it or doing it on purpose, the average of all the news coverage seems to follow and amplify the loudest guys in the country instead of leading and being the voice of reason. I still hear television hosts trying to "make sense" of something TFG said without recognizing that he's a delusional, manipulative, megalomaniac and we shouldn't be wasting our time trying to make sense out of anything he says. One of the reasons why people like Hitler and TFG get so far is that most people aren't educated to recognize a sociopathic mind that works so differently from theirs. 🙁
I am so grateful that MSNBC, at least, seems to be leading the pack for years now, in recognizing the psychopathology and the dangerousness of TFG. if it weren't for them I think I would lose my mind!
I certainly value Margaret and other substack contributors and readers like you who help keep me sane and hopeful. 🙂🙏
I've always loved "Bad to Me" and had NO idea John Lennon wrote it. Thanks so much for sharing it! The song and those old photos of my childhood idols really made my day...and their charm, humor, and infinite cool shine as brightly as ever. :)
As for your question about political coverage...I don't think the media as a whole will rise to meet this moment in history. There seems to be a near-universal, conscious choice to keep Americans in the dark about Biden's successes and Trump's dangers.
I would give years of my life if a major news org would publish a series that extrapolates Trump's policies and plans to their impact on our daily lives. Will deporting immigrants cause food shortages? Does gutting the EPA mean we'll eat, drink, and breathe toxins? If Trump invoked emergency powers, would that mean martial law, and what would that be like? Trump just said he wants "my people" to "sit up in attention" like North Koreans do when Kim speaks - so what's daily life like in North Korea? What if Trump left NATO and formed an alliance with Putin? I personally believe nukes would be used and we'd be in World War III. People should connect those dots themselves, but they don't have time and can't research it as well as journalists can. The big story the media is missing is how a typical Trump voter's life would change if Trump were back in power. They're thinking they would benefit in many ways and need to be shown, again and again, how much they'd lose.
That’s a great suggestion.
We're singing the same song Josette...thanks for articulating it so well! I have kiniptions when I hear interviewers NOT ask these follow-up questions of the MAGA-minded, or, I keep hoping that someone would open their news show with these rhetorical questions, then follow up with a panel of sane, knowledgeable guests who can give the factual answers. Then once we get the answers to how TFG's racist and misogynistic "policies" would literally affect our lives, they get repeated again and again until they make an INDELIBLE IMPRESSION on the voters' minds.
I agree completely, Madeline! I think repetition is so important, and it needs to be widespread - not just one news org but all of them - so it's clear that there's a consensus, not bias. It would also help if, as you said, panel guests were chosen not to argue with each other but to EXPLORE the topic, bringing up ideas and questions rather than coming from the "liberal vs. conservative" perspective. Instead of choosing guests based on their politics, news shows should choose guests based on whether or not they live in reality- in a world where science, evidence, witness testimony, logic, and laws matter. :)
I agree completely, Josette! It's actually frightening how, either without being conscious of it or doing it on purpose, the average of all the news coverage seems to follow and amplify the loudest guys in the country instead of leading and being the voice of reason. I still hear television hosts trying to "make sense" of something TFG said without recognizing that he's a delusional, manipulative, megalomaniac and we shouldn't be wasting our time trying to make sense out of anything he says. One of the reasons why people like Hitler and TFG get so far is that most people aren't educated to recognize a sociopathic mind that works so differently from theirs. 🙁
I am so grateful that MSNBC, at least, seems to be leading the pack for years now, in recognizing the psychopathology and the dangerousness of TFG. if it weren't for them I think I would lose my mind!
I certainly value Margaret and other substack contributors and readers like you who help keep me sane and hopeful. 🙂🙏